November 23, 2010
How to beat the winter blahs at your dealership
By: Mike Manges
The holiday season is one of the toughest periods for retail tire and automotive service sales. Here are five strategies for beating the winter blahs, courtesy of five very successful tire dealers.
1. Promote vehicle maintenance. When business slows down, it's tempting to rein in your advertising budget. Lakewood Firestone, a single-location dealership on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, takes the opposite approach. "We don't cut back," says co-owner Rich Birsic.
Birsic uses the winter months to send out direct mail pieces to current and prospective customers. "We do coupons, we have ads in a broad mass mailer -- one of those 'dollar saving' magazines."
He advertises brake checks, radiator flushes and other "winterization" services. "You're always looking to replace other parts of the business you're losing."
2. Launch a corporate discount program. December is a great time to promote your menu of services to fellow businesspeople, says Paul Weaver, president of Princeton, Ind.-based Southern Indiana Tire.
"We have people go out and talk to businesses like lawyers' offices, big doctors' offices -- companies that have 20 or more people working there."
Southern Indiana Tire hands out "preferred customer cards" that can be punched four times in order to receive a free, fifth oil change. "When we go into a new city, we do a lot of that, just to let people know we're there."
3. Get flexible on pricing. December tends to be a good month for Richlonn's Tire & Service Center, which has five locations in the Milwaukee, Wis., area.
However, when business slows down, "we try to be more flexible on our pricing," says President Brett Matschke. "We're more than willing to match our competitors' prices, specifically written estimates."
Richlonn's also will run extra spiffs "to get our salespeople fired up," he adds.
4. "Rightsize" your inventory. When tire sales are slow, it's time to examine your internal operations, says Ernie Caramanico, owner of Amityville (N.Y.) Firestone. "We usually streamline our inventory during the winter" by weeding out obsolete tire models and sizes.
"We'll do a physical inventory. If I have 20 of one size, I'll cut it in half." It's a way to keep cash flowing, he explains.
5. Develop other revenue streams. "Instead of sitting there, crying and saying 'There aren't any tires to sell,' we're coming up with things" to boost vehicle service revenue, says Al Saks, president of Dorchester Tire Service Inc. in Boston, Mass.
He also recommends using down time to take care of routine matters at your shop. "Shopping doesn't necessarily revolve around the vehicle this time of the year."
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